Seeds
Magdalena Big Cheese Seeds, Southwestern Desert Heirloom
$6.99
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One of the rarest squash in the American seed market. One of the toughest we grow.
🌱 Free Shipping on Orders $35+, ships from Newton, Kansas.
📖 Read our complete growing guide for this variety →
Magdalena Big Cheese is a Southwestern desert heirloom that barely exists in U.S. seed catalogs. A handful of sellers carry it. We're one of them. We're one of them, and every seed we ship is part of a very small preservation chain. If you want something almost nobody else in your gardening circle has ever seen, this is it.
The fruit is a flat, cheese-wheel shape with soft buff-tan skin and deep ribs. Think Long Island Cheese scaled up and dialed in for a hotter, drier climate. Flesh is sweet, dense, and holds up beautifully for pies, soups, and long storage. It was selected over generations in the Southwest for one thing: surviving heat, drought, and pest pressure without flinching.
And because it's Cucurbita moschata, it comes standard with the trait we build our whole catalog around: resistance to squash vine borer. The thick, fibrous stems stop SVB larvae cold. On Kansas soil, where vine borer pressure peaks mid-June through July and routinely flattens pepo-type squash plantings, that genetic armor is the difference between a harvest and a loss. Vine borer resistance is kind of our thing at Autumn Prairie Pumpkins, and Magdalena Big Cheese is one of the reasons we lean into it.
Variety Details
- Species: Cucurbita moschata. Heirloom, open-pollinated
- Origin: Sonoran Desert, northern Mexico (Magdalena de Kino region)
- Fruit size: Large flat cheese-wheel shape, 10–20+ lbs
- Skin: Buff-tan with deep ribbing
- Flesh: Dense, sweet, deep orange , excellent pie and storage squash
- Days to maturity: ~110 days
- Storage: 4–6+ months cured
- Vine borer resistance: High. Thick-stemmed moschata genetics
- Drought tolerance: Very high. Southwestern desert heritage
- Rarity: Extremely uncommon in U.S. seed catalogs
In the Kansas Garden
Full sun, well-draining soil, and real space. Plan 10–12 feet per plant. Direct sow after soil hits 65°F, or transplant 3–4 weeks before last frost in Zone 6b. Magdalena actually prefers the heat most gardeners complain about, and it holds up through Kansas July better than almost anything pepo. Mulch heavy to stretch soil moisture, feed with compost, and rotate out of cucurbits year to year.
Read the full for planting dates, spacing, and curing tips.
Why Autumn Prairie Pumpkins
We're a small Kansas seed operation that built its whole catalog around vine borer resistance. Every variety we sell is hand-selected, hand-packed, and shipped from Newton, Kansas. Strong soil builds strong plants, and the right variety makes the whole job easier.
Shipping & Satisfaction
We ship seeds and coffee via USPS from Newton, Kansas. Orders typically ship within 1-2 business days.
Seeds: Flat-rate shipping. Ships year-round.
Coffee: Freshly roasted and shipped weekly.
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Growing Tips
Each seed packet includes detailed growing instructions. For additional help, visit our Growing Guides or reach out to us directly.